Our trio of sophomore bigs are all below 40% from the field this season -- weird for guys who were notable for their offensive skills as freshmen.

The only thing I can think of is that they're more active on defense this season and that's probably taking a toll on their offense. Conditioning could be the issue here -- step up that offseason weightlifting and diet regimen. They're looking winded on offense with all these missed open 3s and layups.

Despite the current deficit, I like what I'm seeing from the guys. Our soph bigs are just missing too many open shots against a good St. Joe's team.

St. Joe's one that one more than Princeton lost it. Their reaction when their big gun Brown went out with the injury was impressive, especially of course the PG who scored all of his 22 in the second half. They have four or five very good two-way starters. They made a lot of shots while closely guarded as well as moving the basketball to find easy shots toward the end of the game when the Tigers were chasing.

Obviously this one was lost more on the defensive side for Princeton than the offensive side, but it is frustrating to watch long stretches of players standing around and only the odd pro-forma cut through the defense, more like a clear out than a serious effort to get open and score. Stephens showed some sparks of improved passing that need to be kindled. Aririguzoh keeps getting better as a scorer and he already could pass pretty well. Derosier showed signs of life shooting threes. Much couldn't finish but looked much more alive this game than the last few. Cannady continues to be worth the price of admission and Morales was active and productive.

The Hawks seemed to get every 50-50 ball and looked much more "professionally" physical than did Princeton, knowing just how to push off without getting called. The man defense continued to only work when the Tigers could get deflections or steals; otherwise there were good looks most of the time. The matchup zone and zone were a little better, but there were enough blown slides and switches that St. Joe's picked up deadly open threes. We needed them to miss but they didn't.

The first half was promising and the mini-run to cut it to six in the second half was mildly encouraging, but Princeton will need to be much better if they want to have much fun in the next few games.

St. Joseph is deep and well coached. We are not so deep, so coaching is difficult to judge.

Aririguzoh is getting better every game. He has become an excellent free throw shooter, which makes him even more valuable. But when he sits, the middle is wide open. And I'm not sure Gladson will make that much difference.

Stepping back from the moment, I think ahead: what about next year with the loss of DC3 and Stephens? Even with maturation of the rest of the team, we will not be as good.

Yale, Harvard and now Penn seem to be well ensconced ahead of us for the foreseeable future. We need a recruit (or 2) every year like Llewellyn just to catch up.

St. Joe's is an athletic skilled team with depth -- good A-10 school that Preinceton could have beaten at home last night if they received any type of contribution from Much, Schwieger or the bench other than DesRosiers. I believe that IL teams will look more like A-10 schools over time -- Harvard and Yale are well on their way based on their recruitment of athletic skilled players.The backdoor offense of the Tigers may become a relic especially if you do not have a Spencer Weisz on your team matched with athletic skilled players like Cook, Stephens and Cannady.

My vote for this year is go athletic with Cannady, Stephens, Ariruzoh, Llewellyn, Morales, DesRosiers, Johns and possibly Wright. Much, Schrieger and Gladson have limited to no roles as Mitch plays with a limited bench in league play. DesRosiers is somewhat more athletic than Schrieger and Much and a much better 3pt shooter. Make a commitment to him so that he does not play tentative and hope that Llewellyn and Morales can get open 3 pt shots off penetration.

I guess that I am suggesting to find a new offensive model than the historical model or half-baked model that has emerged as a compromise. Need athletss to defend and rebound. Just a thought.

Yale, Harvard and now Penn seem to be well ensconced ahead of us for the foreseeable future. We need a recruit (or 2) every year like Llewellyn just to catch up.

I'm not sure what to think about this. Theoretically, Princeton has recruited extremely well over the past few seasons. They have a bunch of players that I'm sure any other team in the conference would love to have. That being the case, if they're underachieving despite their talent, then that suggests that the problem is coaching. I suspect that, if Princeton continues to look this mediocre and doesn't make the conference tournament this season, Mitch Henderson might start feeling uncomfortable.

I feel your pain, but you need to give it time. Amir Bell graduated, leaving a big hole that had to be filled by Jaelin LLewellyn. Llewellyn hasn't played yet, and Cannady and Morales each missed time due to injuries. Thus, Princeton's entire backcourt has been missing or working off the rust.

Stephens and Aririzugoh are top Ivy league talent. Assuming the backcourt is healthy, Princeton can make the tournament and - if Cannady and Stephens have good games - beat anyone.

I do agree that the play of your younger forwards does not compare to recent classes and that will be a problem, especially when Stephens graduates.

Nevertheless, I'd give Llewellyn a chance to return and play himself into shape. As noted by posters, your 4 projected starters are top notch.

Coaching is difficult to evaluate as you suggest although over time, the best evaluator is your won loss record unless you are coaching in Bangor Maine. Coach is less than 2 years from a historic 16-0 IL season after a rocky non-conference performance. His team came back from double digits against Notre Dame at the big dance with a final shot from Cannady bouncing off the rim. Is the Tigers slow start a function of not getting the most out of his players or is it a function of a young team with growing pains other than the best four players on the floor? Time will tell.

**Tigers and Mitch honored Coach Martelli for his 10 year leadership of Coaches for Cancer -- class act. A number of St. Joe graduates were sitting behind the Tiger bench and in front of our family. After acting "that way", my wife asked me why? I shared with her where they came from and she immediately understood.